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Housing market in Windsor-Essex 'normalizing,' real estate insiders say Damon Winney, broker of record at Jump Realty, says more listings are hitting the market which is helping to turn the table against what once was a heavy sellers’ market. “There's been a shift in the market from what we've been used to the past I'll say two-three years,” Winney said. The housing market seems to be cooling off across the country, and in Windsor-Essex. Home sales in April dropped 18.9 percent compared to the same month last year. “There seems to be more supply and there seems to be a little bit less buyers than there were in the past,” said Peter Valente, president of Valente Development. Nationally, home sales dropped 12.6 percent in April of 2022 compared to April 2021. Sale prices are also decreasing nationally, but not locally. A market slowdown can lead to buyer’s remorse. If you’re in the market for the minute you’re not going to win it, Winney says. “When there's a large number on the line and if you are playing it by the minute and…

12 Landscaping Ideas that Will Increase your Home Value If there is one area that rebounded with zest following the effects of Covid-19, it is home prices. For example, in June 2021, home prices in the US had surged by nearly 25% year-on-year. The American online real-estate marketplace, Zillow.com recently reported that home prices would likely rise another 13.6% between October 2021 and October 2022. With predictions indicating that home prices are likely to continue on an upward trend, there are a few landscaping ideas that you can follow to benefit even more from the excellent home prices. This article presents 12 relatively inexpensive landscaping ideas that have helped homeowners sell their homes at a higher price much quicker.   What is Curb Appeal?   According to the financial information website, Investopedia.com, “Curb appeal is a term used to describe the general attractiveness of a house or other piece of property from the sidewalk to a prospective buyer.” The same source adds, “This term is often used by realtors trying…

'It’s going to be tough': What does the new EV plant mean for local home buyers? House hunters in Windsor-Essex may be facing an even greater challenge finding a home as the region prepares for a new electric vehicle battery production plant, according to local experts. Officials with the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors say they’re incredibly excited with the announcement that Windsor will be home to the first EV battery manufacturing operation in Canada, but also say the good news could mean local housing prices will continue to soar with no signs of slowing down. “We're not that sleepy little town anymore,” says WECAR President Elica Berry. “It gives us hope for the future. Our markets are still very strong in the real estate market and we don't expect it to come down at all.” Berry says the association is recommending anyone considering or trying to buy a home to act fast, telling CTV News the average price of a three-bedroom home continues to rise at an unprecedented rate. We are catching up to the major cities around the country,”…

$19M announced for affordable, accessible housing in Windsor, Essex, Caldwell First Nation Funding will see 61 new units built The federal government has announced $19.2 million for dozens of new affordable homes in Windsor, Essex and Caldwell First Nation. The funding, which was announced Thursday and is coming through the government's Rapid Housing Initiative, will see 61 new affordable housing units constructed in the coming months.   "I know many residents in my ward, and frankly across the city, are concerned about affordable and accessible housing," said Windsor Ward 2 Coun. Fabio Costante. "It's a very big issue in our city." "To me, it was a no-brainer to support this type of a project." The funding will be spread across a few housing projects, a media release from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation states: Eight units at 310 Sherk Street in Leamington, which will be managed by the Bridge Youth Resource Centre and be available to young adults, women, Indigenous people, and Black Canadians; 15 units at 462 Crawford…

Canadians deepening their faith in red-hot housing market even as rate hikes loom Bloomberg News Erik Hertzberg Publishing date: Feb 07, 2022  •  48 minutes ago  •  2 minute read  Some 64 per cent of Canadians expect the value of real estate in their neighbourhoods to increase over the next six months. PHOTO BY GAVIN YOUNG/POSTMEDIA   Real-estate-addicted Canadians aren’t being scared off by the threat of higher interest rates, polling suggests. Optimism about the nation’s housing market rose to near record levels last week, despite warnings from central bank and regulatory officials that borrowing costs are poised to increase and could hit the real estate market. Some 64 per cent of Canadians expect the value of real estate in their neighbourhoods to increase over the next six months, according to the latest weekly survey by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News. That’s up from 60 per cent last week, making it one of the fastest 7-day increases in confidence on record. It’s a surprising result, coming a week after the Bank of Canada warned…

12 Real Estate Tips For Making Every Buyer A Happy Customer RACHEL BURRIS12-MINUTE READ JULY 21, 2021 The real estate business is competitive. With so many agents out there, you need to go out of your way to ensure you make all of your customers feel special. If you don’t, you risk losing them to another agent – and you guarantee losing out on future business. You want your customers to turn to you for all of their real estate needs and refer you to their friends and family. To do so, you must make sure that each buyer you work with is a happy customer.   It’s no secret that the best real estate agents constantly secure repeat business by building long-lasting relationships with their customers. Keeping your customers well-informed, establishing personal connections with them and easing their fears and burdens are crucial ways to turn each buyer into a happy customer. There’s no doubt you already know this to be true, but are you applying this knowledge to your everyday practices?   No matter how long you’ve been in the industry,…

Is the Canadian Housing Market Overvalued? by Corben Grant on 16 Nov 2021 Moody's finds overvaluation of up to 90% in some Canadian markets A new report from Moody's analytics indicates their findings of overvaluation across the country. Their report follows many other institutions such as the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) and The Economist in drawing attention to overly high home prices in Canada's housing market. Just what is going on? The report points to severe overvaluation in numerous housing markets across the country, with a general overvaluation of 22% in metro areas nationwide. Overall, Ontario shows the largest amount of overvaluation with none of the analyzed markets being within the range for what is considered correct valuation. In Toronto, home prices sat almost 40% above trend for Q2 of 2021 while Hamilton was up to 73% overvalued. Provincially, British Columbia was not overvalued, however, Vancouver was 23% overvalued, much closer to the national average than Toronto but still not great.…

Windsor to get $1.7M to ease housing crunch Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens at City Hall, July 18, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/WindsorNewsToday.ca. Mayor Drew Dilkens was among Ontario mayors who participated Wednesday in a housing summit, hosted by Premier Doug Ford and Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark. The purpose was to discuss ideas on how to increase the housing supply across the province and collaborate on methods to create housing across all demographics. The mayor told WindsorNewsToday.ca Wednesday night that the city will receive $1.7-million from a $45-million provincial fund, split among Ontario’s 39 most populous municipalities. “It will allow us to undertake a Lean Six Sigma review to make sure that from a process and efficiency standpoint, we are doing everything we can to move development applications through the process as quickly as possible,” said Dilkens. With the real estate market still very much in favour of sellers, the average price of a home for sale has been skyrocketing. According to the December…

7 Tips and Tricks to Capitalize on Selling in a Seller's Market Published on April 29th, 2021 Stacey KelleherContributing Author Who could have imagined that a global pandemic would be a catalyst for one of the most dramatic upswings the real estate industry has seen in recent years. As of Q1 2021, a staggering 97% of real estate agents participating in HomeLight’s quarterly agent insight report said they were experiencing a seller’s market. That’s the highest percentage since we began tracking this metric. As homes became our office spaces, classrooms, and mask-free sanctuaries, many Americans realized they needed a new setup. This hyper-focus paired with record-low mortgage rates inspired many buyers to step into the market — far exceeding the available inventory of homes. Still, even with skyrocketing demand, homeowners selling in a seller’s market should do their due diligence to ensure they’re selling their home for the best price possible. With help from a top-sellling real estate agent, we’ll share seven tips to make the most…

Why real estate agents are urging Canadians not to wait for spring to sell their house. Why real estate agents are urging Canadians not to wait for spring to sell their house. Rising mortgage rates could mean a spring slowdown for Canada's housing market.   This report by MoneyWise Clayton Jarvis  The pandemic-triggered housing boom has shredded a number of long-standing assumptions Canadians have about real estate. Distance from, not nearness to, downtown cores is now a key buyer desire. Communities that were unpopular with buyers two years ago because of a lack of jobs or amenities are some of today’s most active markets. Even taking out a gargantuan mortgage in the midst of a crushing global recession went from “undeniably risky” to “par for the course” seemingly overnight. And this Great Real Estate Rethink continues: A new survey by real estate brokerage Royal LePage finds that 79 per cent of real estate professionals think sellers should list their homes this winter rather than waiting until spring 2022. Winter is traditionally the slowest season for…

Canada's real estate market in 2022: What to expect in the new year Canada's real estate market in 2022: What to expect in the new year Three trend predictions on the direction of the country's housing market in the year to come, according to the experts   This report by Maclean's | Canada's real estate market in 2022: What to expect in the new year Prepare for a sales dip The Canadian Real Estate Association predicts the average home price will increase to $718,000 (up 5.6 per cent) in 2022. The number of home sales peaked in 2021 (some 656,000 properties traded hands via MLS), and “national home sales are forecast to fall by 12.1 per cent to around 577,000 units in 2022.” Bubbles could burst In its annual global real estate bubble index, UBS Wealth Management ranked Toronto as the second-worst city based on risk, next to Frankfurt, Germany, though Vancouver is in risky territory, too. Its forecast for Canada’s housing market: “Stretched affordability, tighter mortgage stress test requirements and an expected tightening…

The latest real estate stats for hot markets are bad news for homebuyers The latest real estate stats for hot markets are bad news for homebuyers This report by Clayton Jarvis, MoneyWise The latest real estate stats for hot markets are bad news for homebuyers | Windsor Star Here’s hoping the last six months of declining home sales didn’t give homebuyers the false impression that Canada’s real estate market has cooled. It’s still historically hot. Home sales in September showed a modest month-over-month increase, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association . Despite only rising by 0.9 per cent, the increase was the first since March. At this point in Canada’s seemingly inexhaustible real estate boom, when the number of homes on the market is scraping rock bottom, any increase in sales is near miraculous. But it doesn’t mean conditions have improved for buyers. If anything, they’re just getting worse. The national picture Last month, home sales across Canada fell by 17.5 per cent compared to September 2020. But demand isn’t…